Business houses ready to jump on the Indian Premier League bandwagon

Cricket, it's still lucrative in India. Despite the recent set-back the sport has received following the infamous spot-fixing and betting scandal, and the subsequent banning of teams and former owners, a host of Indian business houses are in line to join the Indian Premier League (IPL) bandwagon.

New Delhi: Cricket, it's still lucrative in India. Despite the recent set-back the sport has received following the infamous spot-fixing and betting scandal, and the subsequent banning of teams and former owners, a host of Indian business houses are in line to join the Indian Premier League (IPL) bandwagon.

According to a report in Times of India, reputed Indian companies are eyeing to fill up the vacant spot created after the banning of Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) by the Supreme Court panel headed by former chief justice RM Lodha on Tuesday.

The report claimed that Gautam Adani of the Adani group, Harsh Goenka of the RPG group, Sajjan Jindal of JSW, Venugopal Dhoot of the Videocon group, Prasad Potluri of PVP Ventures and the Munjals of the Hero group ready to exploit the opportunity and make their presence in cricketing field.

RPG group chairman Harsh Goenka confirmed their interests in the franchise-based T20 league, and the report quoted him saying that the Lodha committee verdict had indeed "clean bowled corruption" in Indian cricket.

The report also quoted, Venugopal Dhoot saying, "We spend crores in branding exercise and owning an IPL team would be a great idea."

Started in 2008, under the aegis of Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has undoubtedly became one of the sporting leagues in the world, itself establishing as a brand. Business houses have used the cash-rich league a means to reach and connect with millions of global viewers.

The brand valuation of the league received some set-back after spot-fixing and betting scandal surfaced in 2013. But, many believed that Tuesday's cleaning act will serve as a precursor to finally restoring the honour of the sport.

The BCCI has reportedly started groundwork to fill-up the spot left vacant after the banning of CSK and RR. With a vast pool of super star cricketers released from the two franchises, a fresh auction is expected to draw huge bidding. And nothing sells like cricket in India.